Hello everyone, I am new here but have been lurking for a while. My conlang's name is Georgish, the reason for that is because it is the language of a fictional island on the Georges Bank, a shallow plateau located east of Massachusetts in the USA. One day, perhaps I will construct the island...

The conlang is influenced by French, German, Hungarian, and Lithuanian, but the majority of words are made-up.

The subject of a sentence can be anywhere, but the object follows the verb. It is generally spoken and written as SVO, however.

The alphabet is a modified form of the Latin one. It is phonetic in that each character or certain combinations of characters represent a specific sound or dipthong/ligature (what's the difference?). The four diacritics used are:

Macron:ā ō ē ū īCircumflex:â ô û î ĝ ĉ ŝUmlaut:ä ör ïr Caron/haček:The caron is used when two letters that usually combine to form a certain sound are meant to be pronounced separately. In example, there are two words in Georgish that look the same yet have different meanings, the word szar (IPA:ɬɑːr). Normally, the sz combines to make a certain sound. However, in the other meaning of the word, it is pronounced separately. To distinguish between them, a caron is placed over the s, making the word šzar (IPA:ʃzɑːr).

The full alphabet and its IPA/English equivalents:Ā ā = æ = a as in batA a = ɑː = o as in longÂ â = ɑ̃ = a as in the French pronunciation of FranceÄ ä = ɛː = ä as in the German pronunciation of ÄpfelB b = b = b as in boyCz cz = tʃ = ch as in checkĈ ĉ = ç = ch as in the German pronunciation of Bach (not K or SH!)Ĉr ĉr = çr = a sort of French 'chr' that is much more in the throat than ĉC c = s = s as in songD d = d = d as in dogĐ đ = θ = th as in theaterV v = ð = th as in thoughE e = eɪ = a as in dayĒ ē = ɛ = e as in bedF f = f = f as in funG g = ɡ = g as in guyĜ ĝ = dʒ = g as in giantH h = h = h as in homeI i = iː = ee as in sheepĪ ī = ɪ = i as in binÎ î = aɪ = i as in fightJ j = ʒ = s as in visionK k = k = k as in skyL l = l = l as in lambŊ ŋ = m = m as in miceN n = n = n as in niceNg ng = ŋ = ng as in longNz nz = ? = n as in the French pronunciation of vent. If you remove the 'n,' something is missing. This is that something...O o = oʊ = o as in goŌ ō = ʊ = oo as in tookÔ ô = ɜr = ir as in firP p = p = p as in pieR r = r = r as in runRh rh = h+rRr rr (written as an R with a macron over it) = ɾ = linkS s = ʃ = sh as in sheepSz sz = ɬ = linkŜ ŝ = ɮ = linkT t = t = t as in tie and t as in catU u = uː = oo as in foodŪ ū = ʌ = u as in mudÛ û = œ = ö as in the German pronunciation of schön.W w = v = v as in vastŴ ŵ = w = w as in westY y = j = y as in yesZ z = z = z as in zooÞ þ = ? = nt as in the French pronunciation of vent. A type of stop.

Ligatures/dipthongs:Āu āu = aʊ = ow as in howÄr är = ɛːr = är as in the German pronunciation of BärÖr ör = oʌ Ïr ïr = iːʌOa oa = oi as in the French pronunciation of poiOi oi = oy as in boy

There are 10 cases for nouns, and each noun is grouped into one of three declensions. I will go in-depth about this later.

Each verb has 65 forms, including the root infinitive form, "to verb." ("verb" meaning the specific verb in question) This is because of the tenses and numbers of verbs, which I will go into later too.

I haven't yet constructed a clear picture of the grammar...

Other information:• Numbers are written as 2, 20, 200, 2'000, 20'000, 200'000, 2'000'000, etc.• Dates are written as year|month|day, i.e 2010|Nov|27• Names are written as Last Middle First, i.e Christie Agatha• Addresses are written from most specific to least (this is the general rule wen it comes to describing something)• All adjectives, not adverbs, are capitalized.• There is no 'yes' or 'no', when answering a question with a yes or no answer, you have to restate the question. I.e., if the question was "do you have a cat" (in Georgish: Kczo ŋirebä daz?), you would answer either "I have a cat" (Ŋirepä daz) or "I have not a cat" (nī'Ŋirepä daz)

-Ian

Jūdä la'prrogētc ser la wēlc đac kyuwedä ŋot.Be the change you want to see in the world.

i9113n wrote:Ĉ ĉ = ç = ch as in the German pronunciation of Bach (not K or SH!)

I'm pretty sure the <ch> in Bach is /x/ not /ç/.

Ĉr ĉr = çr = a sort of French 'chr' that is much more in the throat than ĉ

I don't understand. Is it just /çɹ/? ([çʁ]?)

Ŋ ŋ = m = m as in mice

Why not use m?

Nz nz = ? = n as in the French pronunciation of vent. If you remove the 'n,' something is missing. This is that something...

Vowel Nasalization..?

Þ þ = ? = nt as in the French pronunciation of vent. A type of stop.

The <t> is silent and the <n> only nasalizes the preceding vowel. There is no stop or sound, unless the next word follows a vowel, but then it's just a /t/.

I'm a little confused about your use of the alphabet. Using <w> for /v/, <v> for /ð/, <Ð> for /θ/, <þ> for /???/. It reminds me of a logic puzzle where one mistakes causes all the answers to shift.

Also the velar nasal symbol for the /m/, I really don't get. The others I guess could arise somehow. But I don't buy the adaption of some obscure symbol and the dropping of one of the most common.

• Dates are written as year|month|day, i.e 2010|Nov|27• Names are written as Last Middle First, i.e Christie Agatha• Addresses are written from most specific to least (this is the general rule wen it comes to describing something)

Maybe this is an exception, but why would the date and names be written least specific to most, when the standard rule is the opposite?

Native: English (NW American)Advanced: Spanish Intermediate: French Beginning: Arabic (MSA/Egyptian) Some day: German

Well, conventionally, I'd suggest <Ð, đ> for /ð/ and then reassign <Þ, þ> to /θ/. (I don't know if this is a Historical Conlang, but depending on the original speakers, and when/who the first contact with the Latin Alphabet was, it's very likely that both would be represented by <th> like in English.)

I really like your verbal system, and the way you presented it. However, I'm confused on the final consonants, and what dictates them. Care to elaborate?

Native: English (NW American)Advanced: Spanish Intermediate: French Beginning: Arabic (MSA/Egyptian) Some day: German

How is using an unusual letter in place of a common one "simpler"? Using m to represent /ŋ/, that might qualify as "simpler" since it avoids the use of a non-ASCII character. But the converse?

If it's a well-made conlang, then it will have a distinctive look and feel without you having to play around with the alphabet. But if you do want an orthographic representation that's less than strictly phonemic, then you might want to read a bit about how spelling systems develop. In general, irregularities comes from two sources: (a) borrowings from other written varieties where the same letters have different values and (b) historical sound changes which are not represented in the script. It's not random that English /ʤ/ is usually represented by j, for instance; it's a legacy of the fact that Middle English borrowed many words from varieties of French at a time when j (a letter absent from older forms of English) still had this value in them and preserved the original spelling.

As for those letters most people here think are awkward or illogical let me just say that you shouldn't change them. I think they look nice. Things don't have to be logical or reasonable for other people. I personally never cared about the opinions of western sceptic-rationalist subculture with their obsessions of correcting what they perceive as incorrect or improper or whatever in other people and their work.

Well, I've decided to keep most letters the same, although ŋ can be used interchangeably with m. A discussion-example, nouns later:A: Kczo lokoŋodīpyar aĉriwsu? ? - the train - it will arrive Will the train arrive?B: Lokoŋodīpyar nī’aĉriwsu īĉ’tzît. the train - it won’t arrive - by that time. The train won’t arrive by that time.A: Kczo wär aĉriwsu? ? - when - it will arrive When will it arrive?B: Īĉ’trāuf-dāufsīg, aĉrīwsu āud Platīs Un. at four-thirty, it will arrive on Platform One. At four-thirty, it will arrive on Platform One.A: Kczo czer sētipo oŋ? ? - how - seats - to exist How many seats are there?B: Īĉ’prrīczīn, sētipo Zāuf oŋdäc. at the moment - seats - two - they exist. At the moment, there are two seats.A: Yund percazpä sēti pre ïraftū? may - I purchase - the seats - for - tommorrow May I purchase the seats for tomorrow?B: Pre lokoŋodīpyar ïraftū? Jūdä lokoŋodī Ĝolor, wîsnbä. for - the train - tomorrow . It is - train - different, you know For the train tomorrow? It is a different train, you know.A: Lokoŋodīpyar Ïraftū. Wîsnpä jūdä Ĝolor. the train - tomorrow. I know - it is - different. The train tomorrow. I know that it is different.B: Percazdä yund sētī. Jūsu Krrûni ‡46. you purchase - may - the seats. It will be - Kroen - ‡46. You may purchase the seats. It will be 46 Kroen.A: Ŋatzūpä đrē. I thank - you. I thank you.

Jūdä la'prrogētc ser la wēlc đac kyuwedä ŋot.Be the change you want to see in the world.